Man faces drug trafficking charges

A man is facing federal cocaine trafficking charges after authorities found more than 16 pounds of the drug in the pickup he was driving during a Carson County traffic stop, court records released Friday said.

John Curtis Griffin was indicted Feb. 13 in the Northern District of Texas’ Amarillo Division stemming from a Nov. 25 traffic stop on Interstate 40 East, records said. Texas and New Mexico state troopers were patrolling the area that morning when one of the troopers saw a silver 2004 Ford F-150 make multiple lane changes with delayed turn signals, documents said.

The trooper pulled over the pickup and talked with Griffin, the only person in the pickup, records said.

Griffin refused the search requested by the trooper. Another DPS trooper arrived with a drug-sniffing dog, and the dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the pickup, records said.

Troopers searched the pickup and found vacuum-sealed bundles that appeared to be packaged narcotics, then Griffin was arrested and taken to the Panhandle Department of Public Safety office where authorities tested the contents of the packages and yielded a positive result for cocaine, documents said.

If convicted, Griffin faces up to life in prison and a $10 million fine, records said.